Tuesday, May 26, 2015

GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES $13.3 MILLION TO FIGHT GUN VIOLENCE ACROSS NEW YORK STATE

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that law enforcement agencies in 17 counties participating in the state’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative will receive $13.3 million to target gun violence and save lives. Now entering its second year, the initiative requires the use of proven strategies to reduce shootings and firearm-related homicides in communities served by 20 police departments in those counties.“This administration has worked tirelessly to combat gun violence in New York and prevent the needless tragedy that comes with it,” Governor Cuomo said. “Through the GIVE initiative, we are giving law enforcement agencies more resources necessary to fight gun violence in our streets in order to save lives and make communities across this state safer.”GIVE funding targets communities served by the Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Hempstead, Jamestown, Kingston, Middletown, Mount Vernon, Nassau County, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Schenectady, Spring Valley, Suffolk County, Syracuse, Troy, Utica and Yonkers police departments. District attorneys’ offices, probation departments and sheriffs’ offices in the 17 counties, which report 87 percent of the violent crime outside of New York City, also receive funding through the initiative.New York State created GIVE a year ago, revamping a decade-old program that provided funding to the same agencies and counties to foster the use of data analysis, intelligence and partnerships to fight crime. Under GIVE, participating agencies must build upon that framework and implement evidence-based strategies proven to reduce gun violence. Administered by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, the initiative also provides agencies with extensive training from national experts to help them effectively implement those strategies.Michael C. Green, executive deputy commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services, said, “New York State stands alone in our commitment to funding evidence-based efforts to combat gun violence and our corresponding commitment to providing comprehensive, hands-on training from nationally recognized experts. Funding is critical, but it is equally important to provide agencies with information and resources so they can implement proven strategies as intended. We remain committed to working with our GIVE partners to help save lives and look forward to providing additional training as we move ahead with the second year of GIVE.”This second round of funding, coupled with free and ongoing technical assistance, will allow agencies to further integrate the following strategies into their daily operations:

· Hot-spots policing, which uses data such as incident reports, calls for service and other information about areas of persistent criminal activity, allowing agencies to focus their resources in areas where crime is more likely to occur in order to target, reduce and prevent it.· Focused deterrence, in which law enforcement identifies chronic offenders and targets them for enhanced attention, enforcement and prosecution. Also key to the approach is a partnership among law enforcement agencies, community groups and social services organizations, which join together to communicate directly with offenders, outlining clear consequences for continued criminal behavior.· Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), which identifies how buildings, vacant lots, traffic patterns and other environmental factors in a neighborhood may influence criminal activity; and· Street outreach workers, who work in specific communities to interrupt cycles of violence or prevent retaliation. The strategy also includes case managers, whose role is to connect individuals involved in violence with resources to help them change their behavior.

The GIVE funding cycle begins July 1, 2015, and ends June 30, 2016, with agencies eligible for one, one-year extension. The grants fund personnel, such as prosecutors and crime analysts, as well as overtime and equipment. In addition to monitoring crime trends and grant funding and evaluating agencies’ progress, the Division of Criminal Justice Services will continue its comprehensive technical assistance program, coordinating regional workshops and networking opportunities as well as county- and/or agency- specific training. The following agencies will share a total of $13,330,467 to implement the following evidence-based strategies:Locally:

The following agencies will focus on reducing aggravated assaults, as those incidents drive violent crime in these communities. Kingston and Jamestown police also will focus on targeting domestic violence, as those incidents contribute to the aggravated assaults reported in those cities.

The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (www.criminaljustice.ny.gov) is a multi-function criminal justice support agency with a variety of responsibilities, including law enforcement training; collection and analysis of statewide crime data; maintenance of criminal history information and fingerprint files; administrative oversight of the states DNA databank, in partnership with the New York State Police; funding and oversight of probation and community correction programs; administration of federal and state criminal justice funds; support of criminal justice-related agencies across the state; and administration of the state’s Sex Offender Registry.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Motorists are advised that the off-ramp from westbound Interstate 90 at Exit 6 for Henry Johnson Boulevard and Route 9 south in the City of Albany will be closed Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for a routine bridge inspection. The ramp to Route 9 north will remain open.

A signed detour will direct motorists to use the Route 9 north (Loudonville) off-ramp to Northern Boulevard. Motorists should then turn left onto Northern Boulevard to access Henry Johnson Boulevard and Route 9 south.

It is imperative that motorists remember to drive carefully in the vicinity of this construction zone, for their own safety and the safety of workers.

Motorists are reminded that fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. In accordance with the Work Zone Safety Act of 2005, convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver’s license.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

The Board of Education of the East Greenbush Central School District will not comment on personnel matters including litigation brought by personnel. However, the Board of Education wants to ensure parents, teachers,

staff and the community that our students will continue to receive the highest level of education while investigation and litigation matters involving our superintendent continue.

Superintendent Angela Nagle was asked to resign after returning from maternity leave after delivering her twin children

TROY – AttorneyRyan M. Finn, of the law firm E. Stewart Jones Hacker Murphy, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission directed at the Board of Education of the East Greenbush Central School District on the behalf of Dr. Angela M. Nagle, Superintendent of the East Greenbush Central School District. The complaint describes how Superintendent Nagle was subjected to harassment and intimidation because of her pregnancy, and how she was eventually asked for her resignation after returning from maternity leave after delivering her twin children.

The Board of Education of the East Greenbush Central School District sought to “buy out” Superintendent Nagle from her 2015 – 16 contract with the school district. Several male members of the Board of Education bullied, harassed, and demeaned Superintendent Nagle, sending a message that it was unacceptable for a woman to take maternity leave. The behavior began in October of 2014, when Superintendent Nagle announced her pregnancy, and persisted until she was asked for her resignation in April of 2015.

“The behavior Dr. Nagle was subjected to was not only unlawful, it was something no woman should experience in a civilized workplace,” said AttorneyRyan M. Finn. “Dr. Nagle is very reluctantly going public with her story because she feels the taxpayers of the East Greenbush Central School District are unaware of the actions of the Board of Education, and because she believes as the leader of a school district, she had a moral and ethical obligation to report bullying, harassment and discrimination. These are types of behavior we teach our children are wrong.”

Superintendent Nagle has led the East Greenbush Central School District since 2008, and has consistently been praised for her performance by the School District.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Have you won nearly $60,000? If you bought a Take 5 ticket from a convenience store in Troy, you might have.

From a press release:

The New York Lottery today announced a top prize winning ticket for the May 10 TAKE 5 drawing was sold at the Troy Food Mart at 95 Hill Street in Troy. The winning ticket is worth $58,106.

In addition to the $58,106 top prize for the May 10 TAKE 5 drawing, which was won by matching five out of five numbers, 200 players each purchased winning tickets worth $435.50 by matching four out of five numbers for the drawing. In total, there were 69,243 TAKE 5 winners for the May 10 drawing.

The winning numbers for the May 10 TAKE 5 drawing were 01-27-36-37-38.

The Lottery encourages everyone who bought a New York Lottery draw game ticket, to check their tickets again, as they could be holding a winner. Tickets expire one year after the game’s drawing.

The winners may claim the tickets at any one of the Lottery’s Customer Service Centers statewide, including the Schenectady office at One Broadway Center, Schenectady, NY 12305 or at Saratoga Casino & Raceway, 342 Jefferson Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. To learn more about how to redeem a prize, click here.

The five winning numbers for TAKE 5 are drawn from the set of 39 available numbers every day at 11:21 p.m. To download the free winning numbers app, click here.

About the New York Lottery

The New York Lottery continues to be North America’s largest and most profitable Lottery, contributing $3.11 billion in fiscal year 2014-2015 to help support education in New York State. The Lottery’s contribution represents 14 percent of total state education aid to local school districts.

New York Lottery revenue is distributed to local school districts by the same statutory formula used to distribute other state aid to education. It takes into account both a school district’s size and its income level; larger, lower-income school districts receive proportionately larger shares of Lottery school funding.

Albany County Legislative Chairman Shawn Morse announced today that he will not seek re-election to the County Legislature. Morse, elected in 2004, says that he is humbled that the people of Cohoes would elect him as their representative. "The people of the 17th District in Cohoes put their faith in me to give them a voice in the Legislature," said Morse. "It has been an honor to serve and I owe them a debt of gratitude for giving me the opportunity."

Morse says he is extremely proud of many of the initiatives he has undertaken over the years such as the prescription drug card plan which saved the residents of Albany County 5 million dollars to date and made prescriptions drugs more affordable. "That's real money," said Morse. "And with the assistance of my colleagues, I instituted the Medicare Advantage Plan which enabled us to save the county millions of dollars while preserving low cost health care for retired employees who earned their benefits. These were times when you can say it's a win win."

But perhaps the thing Morse is most proud of is saving the Albany County Nursing Home. "This was an issue I was faced with when I got elected and one that I fought for every day since. I am proud we were able to save our nursing home and prevent our seniors from being shipped to out of state facilities with poor standards of care. I am proud that we also were able to save 6 million dollars in operating costs per year and at the same time, making the necessary investments to the facility."

"It has been an honor and privilege to work with so many talented legislators over the last 10 plus years. While we did not always agree on every issue, we respected each other and worked to find common ground. That is what government should be about."